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PGA TOUR: Ranking the 25 most dominant performances of 2018

By Bill Felber

POTOMAC, MD - JULY 01: Francesco Molinari of Italy hits off the ninth tee during the final round of the Quicken Loans National at TPC Potomac on July 1, 2018 in Potomac, Maryland. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
POTOMAC, MD - JULY 01: Francesco Molinari of Italy hits off the ninth tee during the final round of the Quicken Loans National at TPC Potomac on July 1, 2018 in Potomac, Maryland. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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Michael Kim celebrates with the trophy after winning the John Deere Classic during the final round at TPC Deere Run on July 15, 2018 in Silvis, Illinois. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Michael Kim celebrates with the trophy after winning the John Deere Classic during the final round at TPC Deere Run on July 15, 2018 in Silvis, Illinois. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

No. 2: Michael Kim, John Deere Classic, -3.48

No. 1: Francesco Molinari, Quicken, -3.50

With an invitation to The Open championship on the line, Michael Kim stepped out of the Tour ranks to smoke the John Deere field at TPC Deere Run. Kim put together four rounds of 66 or lower, building a five-stroke lead after three rounds and closing with a masterful 66 to win by eight.

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The victory was Kim’s first in a 90-tournament PGA Tour career. His best previous finish had been a third place.

At the following week’s Open, Kim could not contend, but he did manage a 285 that was good for a tie for 35th place.

The winner at Carnoustie, of course, was Francesco Molinari. His 276 brought a two-stroke victory over Rose, McIlroy and two other players that translated to  2.14 standard deviations better than the field average.

Less than a month earlier at the Quicken, Molinari demonstrated the full power of his game. With rounds of 67-65-65-62 at TPC Potomac at Avenal, the Italian piled up an eight-stroke margin over runner-up Ryan Armour.

The field average that week was just under 277, meaning Molinari out-performed the average score of the Tour’s best by nearly 18 strokes. On Sunday’s back nine, Molinari followed an eagle on 10 with four straight birdies, turning in a 29 on that side. His was the single most dominant performance of the season.

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